Pollution Prevention Assessments for Marine Maintenance and Commercial Printing Industries

This paper represents the results of ten pollution prevention/waste minimization assessments performed on marine maintenance and commercial printing industries in the Hampton Roads area of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The pollution prevention project is the result of a working partnership (the Partnership) formed between Old Dominion University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (ODU) and Hampton Roads Sanitation District Industrial Waste Division (HRSD) for the Pollution Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) grant awarded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Local businesses were provided with direct on-site technical consultation on waste reduction, and possible alternatives for the reduction or elimination of solid and hazardous waste, waste water discharges, and air emissions, were evaluated. Financial analyses of identified technology and procedural options were developed in order to prepare comprehensive reports for each business on findings and recommendations. Industry profiles are provided in order to establish the type of services rendered by the facilities participating within the program. Material usage, waste generation, and waste minimization recommendations are examined for both the marine maintenance and commercial printing industries. Proposed waste minimization recommendations for the marine maintenance industry include loss prevention, good housekeeping, solvent recycling, waste segregation, and the installation of an aerosol recovery system. Economic incentives have been addressed for both the aerosol recovery system and a solvent distillation unit. In addition to loss prevention and good housekeeping, waste minimization recommendations for the commercial printing industry include hazardous solvent source reduction, recycling of available markets, and silver recovery during photoprocessing operations. Successful implementation of the proposed measures is dependent upon each facility. Performance measures will be taken on a routine basis by HRSD personnel during regular inspections and should also be taken by plant personnel for optimum effectiveness.